In copending and commonly assigned patent application filed by K. G. August et al. and entitled System And Method For Wireless Capture Of Encoded Data Transmitted With A Television, Video Or Audio Signal And Subsequent Initiation Of A Transaction Using Such Data, a portable capture device is used to capture in a wireless manner encoded non-perceptible data from a light emitting device such as a television or other video or audio output device. The capture device uses the captured data to initiate a transaction, such as placing a telephone call and transmitting a message to a remote agent or automated attendant, and delivering the data to a point-of-sale agent directly or indirectly via a telecommunication connection.
This data is part of the ordinary program displayed by the device and yet indiscernible by a viewer or listener. As an example, a television monitor may be located in a kiosk or other public area, and display the advertising of selected services and products. The indiscernible data may be information needed to order those services or products, including prices, delivery intervals, shipping details, coupon offers, and other related information.
Capture can be effected by decoding subliminally modulated video broadcast signals, in a manner suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,031, issued on Feb. 21, 1989, to R. S. Broughton, et al., the teachings which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Alternatively, a modulated carrier, which, for example, can be an amplitude shift keyed (ASK) or frequency shift keyed (FSK) signal having its primary frequency components at a frequency (e.g. 25 kHz) not usually present in a conventional television signal, can be added only to the luminance component of a television signal, and the data can thereafter be captured using bandpass filtering and an ASK or FSK receiver. The device includes a memory for storing the data for later use, and communications circuitry to output at least portions of the data (or data derived from the captured data) to a remote agent or device, such as via a telephone call or a data transfer to a point of sale device.
The encoded non-perceptible data can include associated dialing, routing, or other identification information, so that other portions of the captured data can be transmitted to an appropriate final destination or device. In this context, the final destination can be (a) a remote location, such as a platform arranged to process and consummate transactions, or (b) a point of sale system or other device (e.g., TV, stereo, VCR Plus, smart mouse device, computer, etc.). The other portions of the captured data are part of the payload to be communicated to the final destination or device, and can include product or coupon information that is related to the display from which the non-perceptible data was captured, as well as programming or control data. Other information could include consumer profile information, such as the name, address, credit card number, personal preferences and other personal information.
The capture device can include a built-in-display, such as an LCD display, and the encoded non-perceptible data can include display information, so that at least portions of the captured data can be discerned by a user of the device, and the user can thus be kept informed as to the operation of the device. The memory and the communications circuitry in the capture device are advantageously arranged so that, in a transaction initiated by the device using captured information, a two-way dialog may be initiated between the user and an agent at a remote terminal or a POTS system, and information may be transmitted to and stored in the device for later retrieval.
In a copending application entitled "System and Method of Capturing Encoded Data Transmitted Over a Communications Network in a Video System" filed on behalf of Isenberg and Tuomenoksa on Mar. 18, 1994, Ser. No. 08/210,802 and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, it was recognized that non-perceptible information can be encoded in a television program, captured in a "set top box", and thereafter used to make telephone calls. The set top box is an electrical device that is "hard-wired" directly in the circuit between the video services network and the television set (as a stand alone unit or alternatively as part of the television set itself) and thus, unfortunately, is not portable. Also, the set top box is dedicated to one particular television (or other video source) and thus cannot be shared among several sources. Captured information may not be data, but could be reference pointers to data stored remotely, and needed in order to initiate a transaction. Finally, the user of the set top box may be uncertain as to the nature of the information captured therein.
The above disclosures provide a system and method for initiating a transaction using wireless capture of information obtained from a video/audio device. However, often consumers view many advertisements and program solicitations in magazines, newspapers and many types of printed media. Sometimes advertisements are contained on kiosks, bulletin boards and other locations. It would be advantageous if select pieces of information concerning the advertisement or solicitation could be retrieved to initiate a transaction by dialing a telephone number concerning the vendor of that particular advertisement or solicitation and then initiating a transaction automatically.